Dragons are Always Protective of Their Young
by xXxThe Phantom's RosexXx
Summary: When a baby is left on the porch of his mansion, Draco must take care of her until they find a proper home. But will he be able to part with the child?
1. Chapter 1

**A Note from the Author: Just a little story I thought of this evening. I hope you enjoy and I do not own Harry Potter. However, if someone offered me personal claim to Draco Malfoy, I wouldn't deny. **

**1.**

Draco Malfoy's morning was off to a pretty normal start; he woke up, got a shower, got dressed, and was about to head to the dining hall to see what was prepared for breakfast. As he made his way down the steps of his mansion, the mansion he had inherited following his mother's death, he heard something that sounded like a wounded animal right outside his front door. Draco scoffed and continued to walk away when the screeching began to grow louder and louder.

"Oh, shove off!" Draco shouted, clearly in a sour mood. He had to hurry and eat so that he could get to the Ministry. He had three meetings scheduled in one day and he was not at all pleased with that matter. In fact, if it wasn't for his high position on the Ministry, he would most likely skip all three meetings but unfortunately, he was a Malfoy and this was his job.

As Draco continued around the corner, he couldn't get the annoying cries out of his head. Sighing, he decided to open the door. If there was an animal, he would just kick it back on its way. Draco swung the heavy front door open and gaped at what he found. In front of him, there was a basket and in that basket, there was a baby.

"Oh no," Draco shook his head, "Oh hell to the bloody no! This can't be happening to me!" Draco glared at the little bundle in the basket, "Well," he growled, "I suppose I can't just kick you back on your way, can I?" He picked up the basket and carried it into the mansion. Once inside, he unwrapped the bundle from the blanket and stared at the little pink ball. Little blonde curls stood up along the baby's head. As soon as he had picked her up, she stopped crying.

"Well," Draco sighed, "What am I supposed to do with you? Where's your mother and father, huh?" He knew his parents weren't exactly the model of perfection but he highly doubted they would dump him off on a stranger's porch, "What's your name? Do you have a name?" The baby smiled a toothless grin and Draco sneered, "So you think you're cute, eh? Well, you aren't staying here with me, that's for bloody sure." The little baby cooed and Draco frowned. He had no idea what to do. He couldn't take care of a baby, "Maybe if I take you the Ministry with me today, they'll know what to do with you."

Draco carried the baby into the dining hall where Zed, his house elf was waiting for him. The table was prepared with black, silver, and green table decorations. There was a plate of eggs, potatoes, and fruit sat at my place. To anyone else, it would have been lavish; to Draco, it was the usual. Zed looked up and his sunken eyes nearly popped out of their wrinkled sockets.

"Master Malfoy," Zed exclaimed, "Who do we have here?"

"I found her," Draco answered, thinking he sounded rather much like a child who had just found a puppy and was asking his parents if he could keep it. Of course, he knew he couldn't keep the baby. "She was just sitting there on the porch, crying."

"Oh my…was there a note?"

"Note?"

"Not to be condescending, Master, but did you not check to see if there was a note with this new little addition?"

"She is not an _addition_. I will be taking her to the Ministry with me this morning and the_ Minister_ can see what shall be done with her," Draco snarled at the word, Minister.

"Yes, I am sure the Minister will know what to do," Zed agreed.

"Here," Draco shoved the baby girl into the arms of the elf, "You feed her something and I'll check to see if there is a note."

"As you wish, Master. Come along, dearie."

Draco rolled his eyes and headed back to the entry way and picked up the basket. He dug around in the blankets until he found a piece of paper. He unfolded it and began to read:

_Dearest Draco,_

_I do not have any excuse and I know you don't need this in your life right now, but I just can't take care of her. She is a five months old and she is a beautiful, darling little thing. I love her so much which is why I know I cannot take care of her any longer. I do not have the money nor do I have the time. I know you are a busy man and I know you don't want to think about a child right now, but she needs someone to take care of her and I know you are the only one who can give her what she needs. Please take care of her._

Draco glared at the note. What kind of mother would just throw her child at someone – much less him! He was a Malfoy. Malfoy's were never any good with kids – just look at how his father had treated him! Draco crumpled up the note and threw it back into the basket. He would just have to take the baby, whoever she was, to the Ministry with him this morning. He practically seethed at the thought of what the Minister and his secretary would say.

"Master," Zed approached, carrying the baby, "Did you find a note?"

"Yeah," Draco sneered, "The damn mother tossed her child out as if she were a piece of garbage! Said she wanted me to take care of her because she cant'! That's a stupid reason if you ask me!"

"Well, Master, maybe she really can't. Maybe this mother cannot afford a child and knowing the Malfoy name…"

"She knew I would be able to provide for it," Draco groaned, "I can't take care of a child!"

"What do you plan to do with the thing then, Master?"

"I'm taking it to the Ministry as I had said earlier. The Minister will know what to do and they can put the thing up for adoption or something. All I know is, I can't handle babies. They cry, they smell, they soil themselves, and they eat. It is just positively revolting!"

"Does the thing have a name, sir?" Zed asked.

"No. Why?"

"Well, she is in your charge for now. Maybe you can give her an appropriate name."

"Appropriate name? Zed, I don't even know a thing about this child! How am I supposed to name it?"

"Alright, I'll go warm up your breakfast. Sit here with her and think on it, Master."

Draco tried to hold back on hitting the old house elf. Who did he think he was, telling him what to do! Draco held the baby and sat down on one of the black leather couches. He propped the kid up in his arms and looked at her.

"You aren't half ugly, kid," he scoffed, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were cute. But don't get any ideas or anything! You aren't staying here; no way! I…I don't have time for a kid. I don't even want kids! Don't get me wrong, it's nothing personal, it's just…my family history of parenting isn't the best. You don't deserve me as a father. You need someone who will take care of you."

The baby looked up at him and blinked her pretty blue eyes and Draco winced.

"Alright, Zed says I should probably come up with a decent name for you if I am the one who is going to have to look after you for awhile until the Ministry can figure out where to put you. Hmm…what's a good name for a girl?" Draco bit his lower lip as he thought on it, "How about…Atropine?" The baby made a gurgling nose that sounded displeased, "Alright," Draco sighed, "I won't name you Poison or anything bad like that. Hmm…how about December? That's pretty, right? December Rose Malfoy…only, you won't have Malfoy in your name. So, what do you think?" The baby began to coo happily, "Alright then, December Rose it is."

After eating his breakfast, Malfoy carried little December over to the fireplace. He tossed in a bit of floo powder and, during the transition, found himself holding tighter to the child. What was that? He wasn't concerned about her, was he? He shook the thought from his head as he found himself in the Ministry of Magic. He held his head high as he walked past his secretary's desk, trying to ignore her.

"Draco!" She cried, "You're late! I've been trying to hold off Krux but he insists that the meeting start. I-I didn't know what to do. He can be so forceful sometimes and…is that…a…baby?"

"Yes," Draco answered sourly, "It is. She was on my porch this morning and I'm taking her to the Minister to see if he can offer any advice on what to do with her."

"Does she have a name!" Before Draco knew it, she had taken the baby from him and was cooing at it annoyingly. Draco tried to keep his calm.

"Yes she does, December Rose."

"Oh my goodness! That is such a pretty name! I wonder who came up with it…"

"I did," Draco blushed, "She didn't have a name and the note that was with her didn't say anything. I figured the kid needed a name so I named her."

"Well it is a very pretty name, Draco."

"Thank you," Draco answered sincerely, "Hey, do you mind watching her for me, it'll just be while I'm in my meeting with Krux, if he hasn't left yet."

"He's still there – steaming, but still there. And of course I'll watch Deci for you."

"Deci?" Draco tasted the nickname on his tongue, "Thank you, Granger."

"No problem," Hermione smiled at him as she carried little December Rose over to her desk, "We're going to have loads of fun today, Deci. Your daddy won't be long. He just has meetings but when those are over, he'll be right back out to see you."


	2. Chapter 2

**2.**

"I am terribly sorry I am late…" Draco began as Krux rose from his seat.

"Mr. Malfoy, need I remind you that when your father was in this position, he was _never_ late. _Ever_."

"Yes sir," Draco bowed his head, trying to keep his calm. He longed to just walk out or tell Krux what he really thought of him, but that would just make things worse. After all, he just wanted the meeting to be over with and with as little argumentation as possible.

"So, it has come to my attention that the new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor at Hogwarts has the students duel each other. Have you heard of this, sir?"

"I have not," Draco sighed, "But I really don't see the problem. When I was at Hogwarts, Severus always had us duel. He-he even placed me against Potter," Draco smirked.

"And so you agree that this is dangerous and a violation of the students' safety…"

"Krux, I honestly don't see where the problem is. Besides, if the professor is supervising at all times, then there shouldn't be any concern. More than once, things got a tad out of hand in my class and Severus would step in and…"

"Mr. Malfoy, my son is in that class and he was placed in the infirmary on _three_ accounts of burns and lacerations."

"_Then your son should learn how to be a better dueler_," Draco sneered under his breath.

"What was that?" Krux demanded.

"Nothing," Draco smirked, "Just…if you are so concerned about your son getting hurt in a duel, then you should teach him how to actually…"

"Are you telling me what to do, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Possibly," Draco smirked again.

"I take back what I said earlier," Krux straightened, "You are _just_ like your father."

Draco's face went sour. Alright, so telling people what to do was in his blood, that hardly meant that he was just like his father, did it? Draco tried to shake the thoughts from his head as Krux rose from his seat.

"I believe we no longer have any business to attend to."

"Good," Draco tried to smile as innocently as he could.

"Mr. Malfoy, I can assure you that I will look into this and I will have that new teacher fired. My son could have been killed!" As he spoke, a memory flashed through Draco's mind. There he was, standing in the middle of the forest when that freak, Hagrid's, horse-bird-thing had attacked him. His father had the thing executed. Now who's more like my father, Draco asked himself angrily.

After Krux had left, Draco hurried out to the desk to see Hermione playing with December. She was still cooing to the thing and had the most idiotic expression on her face.

"Who's a good girl? You're a good girl!"

"Please," Draco gagged, "You're making me sick."

"You know, if you're going to take care of December, you are going to have to actually be affectionate."

"No thank you, I'll pass on that," Draco made a face, "What the bloody hell is that atrocious smell?"

"December," Hermione answered plainly, "She needs to be changed."

"You do it!"

"Draco!"

"What? I've never changed a baby before!"

"My God!" Hermione rolled her eyes, "How do you expect to be a father if…"

"I am _not_ going to be a father!" Draco shouted, "She isn't mine! Why should I take care of her?"

"Because, you're all she has!" Hermione insisted, "Besides, she likes you!"

"She's a baby! She doesn't know who she likes!"

"Then explain why she cried when you left her," Hermione smirked, knowingly.

Draco couldn't say anything to that. Instead, he took December from Hermione's arms and held her out at a distance. He began to wonder if he had smelled that bad when he was a baby.

"Alright," Draco rolled his eyes, "I'll change her, but I might need someone to show me what to do."

Hermione nodded and led Draco over to a restroom. At first he had argued for a few minutes about entering a girl's restroom but considering Hermione refused to go into the men's and she was the only one that could help him, he finally gave in and followed closely behind her. She pulled down one of the changing stations and placed December inside.

"There's a spell for this," Hermione said as she began to take off the old diaper.

"Really?"

"Yeah. It'd make this a whole lot easier but then again, I have never been one for short-cuts. Besides, you'll have a more personal connection…"

"I don't want a personal connection!" Draco objected, "I want her gone as fast as possible!"

"Sure," Hermione nodded.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Draco demanded as Hermione began to put on a new diaper from the dispenser.

"Nothing," she shook her head, "Nothing at all."

"_Liar_," Draco snarled.

"Draco, I can never be the one to tell you what to do but…"

"Hermione," Draco sighed, his brow creasing with stress, "I can't keep her. I could never be a good father."

"You aren't Lucius," Hermione said quietly as she handed December back over to Draco, "But go to the Minister. He will be able to offer you advice."

After she left, Draco stood there, holding December in his arms. She looked up at him and smiled. The kid did smile a lot. And it wasn't as if she was one of those annoying babies who cried all the time. And she was kind of cute.

"No!" Draco scolded himself, "Stop it! This thing is nothing more than an annoyance. You have to take her to the Minister."

He carried little December out of the restroom and to the Minister's office. The door was shut, as always, and his secretary happened to be gone. Draco knew it wasn't polite to just barge in, but then again, this was Draco. Being polite wasn't one of his top concerns. He shoved the door open with his shoulder and marched inside.

"Draco!" The Minister clearly was not expecting any sudden guests, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Shove off, Potter!" Draco hissed.

"You know," Harry smirked, "I could have you deported for that."

"But you won't."

"Malfoy, I swear if you weren't one of the bests…what is this?" Harry nodded towards the little girl.

"Oh, December Rose. I found her this morning on my porch. There was a note saying that her mother couldn't keep her and she thought that I would be able to provide for her. I-I don't know what to do with the thing, Potter. I can't keep her."

"And why not?" Harry asked.

"Because, I'm a Malfoy."

"No kidding."

"Look, I came to you asking you for help. You've helped me in the past – hell, you got me this job – surely, you can do this too. If not for me, for December. She needs a good home. She needs…love."

"And you think you are incapable of offering that to her?" Harry was clearly not following Draco's logic.

"Of course. Malfoys aren't…_compassionate_."

"I don't know about that," Harry mused, "It was you who saved Hermione from that Dementor…"

"What choice did I have? She could have been killed!"

"And why did that concern you?"

"Because it wasn't her battle. It was supposed to be just you and the Dark Lord. She didn't need to die."

"Well, that sounds compassionate if you ask me."

"I didn't."

"So you want me to put December – right – up for foster care?"

"Well…yeah," Draco shrugged, "But make sure she goes to a good home."

"I-I can't make that kind of promise, Malfoy. There is a fifty-fifty chance that she'll be put in a good home…"

"But you're the bloody Minister! Can't you pull a few strings?"

"It doesn't work that way. She'll go where she'll go."

"Why…why do people foster if they…they don't want to love the thing."

"The 'thing' is a child, Malfoy and some people just don't care."

"I care. I care enough to know I can't keep her."

Harry bit down on his lip, "Alright, Malfoy. Here's how this can work. You keep December for a week. If you find that you do have the compassion for her that I think you do, then you can keep her. If not, she can go up for foster care."

"A whole week?"

"Yes. If you don't want to, I can just call the Child Care Services and they can put her…"

"I'll take her!" Draco answered a little too quickly.

"Fine then," Harry nodded, "I hope everything works out."

"Me too," Draco nodded, "Thanks, Potter."

"I did this for December," Harry reminded him, "Not you."

"Of course," Draco smiled before carrying December out of the office and back towards Hermione. She looked anxious as if she hadn't stopped thinking about December since leaving them in the restroom together. Draco couldn't help but laugh when Hermione jumped up at the sight of them.

"Missed the kid, huh Granger?"

"She is sweet."

"You want her?"

"Draco, I can't do that. Ron would throw a fit!"

"Potter said that if I kept her for a week and found that I liked her, that I could keep her."

"What's your other option?" Hermione asked.

"She go up for foster care."

"You can't do that to her, Draco!" Hermione shouted, "You just can't!"

"Hey, there's a chance she could find a good family…"

"Draco…" Hermione's eyes were pleading.

"Right," he nodded, "You're right. I can't do that to her."


End file.
